Nicholas Melling and Jeannine Plamondon win 2010 Guérin Cup

News

Published: 16Feb2010

Last Friday at the Montreal Courthouse, the team of
Nicholas Melling and Jeannine
Plamondon (on photo, surrounded by coaches Julio Peris
and Ron Sklar) competed in and won the Guy-Guérin Cup, which
is the Quebec regional round for the Sopinka Cup. In
addition, Melling won the individual prize for the "Best
examination-in-chief."

This year's problem was a murder prosecution arising out of a
killing in a bar fight, with defences based on lack of intent to
kill and on self-defence. According to their coach, Professor
Ron Sklar, "This year's problem differed in that the central issue
was the cause of the victim's death, and on that issue, forensic
reports were critical pieces of evidence. Nicholas and Jeannine
were exceptional. They have great trial advocacy skills and
practiced very hard to prepare for this moot."

Melling and Plamondon will be heading over to Ottawa for the
national Sopinka Cup competition on March 12-13. Since the
McGill team represented the defence in the Guérin Cup, it is
expected they will switch over to the Crown for the Sopinka.

As in the past, Crown Prosecutor Lori Weitzman, criminal defence
lawyer Julio Peris and professor Ron Sklar tirelessly gave of their
time and advice to help get the McGill team into fighting
shape.

The law firms of McCarthy Tetrault and Stikeman Elliott are
co-sponsors of the Guy-Guérin competition. It is named in
honour of judge Guy Guérin (1927-1994), who was justice (1968-1994)
and then chief justice (1985-1988) of the Court of the Sessions of
the Peace, which became the Court of Quebec, Criminal and
Penal Division in 1988.

The Faculty warmly congratulates Nicholas and Jeannine, and
wishes them the greatest of successes in Ottawa next month!